Children Against Child Abuse

O ne of the houses had brightly-colored pom-poms glued all over the roof and side walls. Its builder, a first-grader, described it as a “soft” house where people “must speak softly and not be mean.”

Another house had a cut-out star pasted on the front door, while another had two plastic men glued to the front porch.

Last week, 20 Nantucket Elementary School children worked with Kristen Brock from A Safe Place, the island’s domestic violence crisis center, to build what he or she considered “A Safe House.” The ongoing project will conclude with all the houses on display at a Children Against Child Abuse Art Show Monday, April 28 at the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club.

“Today, kids were telling other kids without any prompting, ‘When I’m an adult, I will not yell at or hit my kids’,” said Brock, who worked with children who were part of the elementary school’s Breakfast Buddies program, for five days last week. “The children understood the concept of a ‘safe house’ by the end of the week. What they did not like was the term ‘child abuse’.”

“Our guiding idea is to start with kids. Teach them not to abuse. It could work,” added Brock.

Starting advocacy early is part of A Safe Place’s new mission. While the agency will continue to offer crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, the mission has been expanded to include prevention, said new executive director Kat Robinson Grieder, who grew up on the island, graduated from Nantucket High School, and has worked for A Safe Place since 2000.

“The new mission statement focuses on working to eliminate sexual assault and domestic violence,” said Grieder. “There is also a bigger effort in prevention. We have more of a presence in the preschools and public schools and there will be more of a community education approach.”

Grieder wants Nantucket to become a “Domestic Violence Free Zone.”

“We’d like men in the community to take a pledge that they will not condone violence against women,” said Grieder. “Cambridge and Gloucester are two towns that have become Domestic Violence Free Zones. We’d like to work towards that goal as well.”

Jennifer Gross, the educational outreach coordinator for A Safe Place, works with students in the high school and talks about domestic violence and sexual assault as part of the health curriculum.

“High school kids don’t think that these things happen here,” said Gross. Yet, after she teaches her unit on sexual assault and domestic violence, many high school students reflect on their own relationships.

“At the end of the class, students turn in a comment sheet. I am amazed by their thoughtful questions. A lot of the comments say, ‘Thank you. I was not aware of the red flags, which I see occurring in my own relationship’,” said Gross.

The Beacon Project is a new program started by the Nantucket Police Department and A Safe Place.

When the police respond to domestic violence calls or encounter suspected victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault, they will give the victim an information package about services A Safe Place offers.

“We’ve redesigned our tickets so when officers respond to a family call, they can flag the ticket if it is a domestic incident. Part of the Beacon Project is being able to track domestic incidents more carefully and alert A Safe Place,” said Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman. While domestic violence accounts for 10 percent of police investigations, officers do take time to investigate and help the victim through the legal process.

“Practically every day somebody is going through a 209-A (restraining order) process,” said Pittman.

“When the police respond to a call, we are crisis managers. We don’t arrange lives and put the pieces back together. We arrest the abuser and the victim can go on and lead a life. Social service agencies like A Safe Place help to make that a reality,” added Pittman. “A Safe Place advocates for the victims. Victims of domestic violence have lost the ability to make appropriate decisions to deal with the problem since they are being physically and emotionally battered. A Safe Place shines the light in their face and says ‘This is the reality’.”

The Children Against Child Abuse Art Show is scheduled for Monday, April 28 from 4-8 p.m. at the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club, 61 Sparks Ave.

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